European attitudes toward the East, the "Orient," have been complicated and sometimes contradictory. In the Early Modern period the Turks inspired fear and admiration, but by the end of the nineteenth century the Ottoman Empire was regarded as the "sick man of Europe," ready for carving up by the European colonial powers. European scholars, artists, composers, and writers set their works in an East sometimes mysterious, sometimes dangerous, sometimes exotic, sometimes debauched; travellers in search of the monuments of the distant past or of themselves reported the East to a great European reading public; anthropologists (who did not yet call themselves by the name) purported to unveil the strange habits of the Islamic inhabitants of this nearby but so distant land. It all ended, at least for our purposes, in the orgy of violence called World War I, much of which was fought in the Middle East.

For our purposes, we will limit our exploration of European Orientalism to the Middle East (including Egypt) during the two centuries preceding World War I: that is to say, essentially the late Ottoman Empire. An ongoing careful and critical reading of Edward Said's 1978 book Orientalism will lend structure to the course; we will also explore (often all too briefly) some of the genres in which Orientalism was played out in Europe over these two centuries: in narrative poetry, in music, in decorative and fine arts, in scholarship, and in travel writing. We will also "hop ahead" a bit to explore Orientalist themes in two films made in the twentieth century but meant to depict the Middle East during our period.

I should add here a warning. This class will be exploring stereotypes that Europeans developed and projected about inhabitants of the Middle East. These views certainly do not represent what those peoples thought (or now think) about themselves, nor do they represent a "truth" about the Middle East, though they are often so advertised by their authors. That is to say, this course is really about Europe, not about the Middle East; about the ways Europeans used representations of Middle Easterners for their own ends. In this respect, the course has a continuing relevance: but that is another story for another time.

For further information about the First Year Program can be found on the First Year Program Homepage.

Lord Byron, "Giaour," in Byron. The Oxford Poetry Library (Oxford 1994) [B]

Gustave Flaubert, Flaubert in Egypt. A Sensibility on Tour, ed. and tr. by Francis Steegmuller (Boston 1972) [B and R].

Edward Said, Orientalism (New York 1994) [B].

Robert Southey, "Thabala," in Poetical Works, ed. Robert Southey (London 1838) [R].

Edward William Lane, Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (rep. London 1954) [R].

Recordings:

Wolfgang Mozart, Abduction from the Seraglio, any version [R].

Films:

The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino (silent).

Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O'Toole.

Map quiz. On September 18 we will take a map quiz, based on the maps attached to this syllabus [not available in the WWW version]. You must pass this quiz to pass the course. Students may retake the quiz as many times as necessary to pass, but be advised that if you have not passed by midterms, a failing grade will be registered for the course.

Analytical and critical papers. Each student will do one analytical and one critical paper on Said (roughly 3-4 pp.). The analytical paper will focus on explicating Said's argument; the critical paper will explore weaknesses and inadequacies in that argument. Papers will be read or summarized in class and will serve as the basis for discussion in that class session.

Orientalism paper. Each student will write one (1) paper of roughly 8-10 pages exploring the notion of Orientalism in a particular work studied this semester, whether book, film, artwork, or music. These papers are due on November 22. More details to follow in class.

Early travellers. Students will be divided into groups to work together on presentations about the attitudes of early travellers to the Middle East. Each group will (1) identify an early traveller to work on; (2) read his/her writings and selected critical work on those writings; (3) present the results of this research to the class on October 23 or 25.

Final research paper. Each student will research and write a final paper of 15-18 pages on a topic selected in consultation with me. The paper will be developed on the following schedule: (1) meet with me in individual sessions during the week on September 30 through October 4 to settle on a topic; (2) produce a proposal with preliminary bibliography on October 11; (3) produce a draft version of the paper due on November 13; (4) give an oral presentation on the paper on December 6, 11, or 13; (5) turn in final revised version of paper on December 16.

Week 2, Sept. 11 and 13: Orientation lecture: the problem of Orientalism; discussion of Said, pp. 1-110.

Week 3, Sept 18 and 20: Orientalist art; trip to Athenaeum

Week 4, Oct. 2 and 4: Discussion of Flaubert in Egypt; Said, pp. 113-197.

Week 5, Oct. 9 and 11: Film, The Sheik: viewing on Wednesday; discussion on Friday.

Week 6, Oct. 16 and 18: No classes, Reading Week

Week 7, Oct. 23 and 25: Early Travellers. Reports and discussion.

Week 8, Oct. 30 and Nov. 1: Discussion of Mozart, Escape from the Seraglio; Said, pp. 201-284.

Week 9, Nov. 6 and 8: Literary Orientalism I: Robert Southey, "Thabala" (selections); Said, pp. 285-328.

Week 10, Nov. 13 and 15: Film, Lawrence of Arabia: no class Wednesday day, meet instead in the evening for viewing, 6.30-10.30, in room to be announced; discussion Friday.

Week 11, Nov. 20 and 22: Literary Orientalism II: Byron, "The Giaour"; Said, pp. 329-352

Week 12, Nov. 27 and 29: No classes, Thanksgiving Break

Week 13, Dec 4 and 6: The Scholarship of Orientalism: Lane, Manners and Customs, pp. 1-52, 135-211, 338-349, 389-396; Paper Presentations I.

Week 14, Dec. 11 and 13: Paper Presentations II.